Eye-controlled television unveiled at IFA trade show

Haier and Tobii have unveiled Gaze TV at Berlin’s IFA trade show, a television that can be controlled using only eye movements.

Gaze moniters eye movement using a sensor (Picture: Tobii)

Prizing AA batteries from a remote and losing controls down the back of a sofa could soon be a thing of the past, as the futuristic Gaze TV sees viewers control the set by staring at the top or bottom of the screen to bring up a user interface.

The channel can then be changed, volume adjusted and a variety of other functions carried out simply by look at icons on the screen.

Chinese electronics company Haier partnered with Swedish eye-tracking technology firm Tobii on the prototype, which could provide couch potatoes with relief from laborious processes such as picking up a remote and pushing a button.

Hand gesture and voice-activation technology has already been incorporated into some existing smart TVs, but Gaze could make viewing even simpler.

The set works by tracking the gaze and blinks of a user’s eye, though at present the technology is not built into the TV and a sensor unit must be in front of the viewer.

Tobii’s chief executive Henrik Eskilsson, said: ‘The free Tobii Gaze Interaction software development kit is available to companies interested in exploring the possibilities of gaze interaction and using this revolutionary technology to develop gaze applications that will take part in the future of computing and consumer electronics.’

Tobii hopes that the technology, originally developed to help disabled people use computers, can also be harnessed to create Gaze-controlled car information systems, surgery room screens and video games.